Biblical, liturgical and classical allusions in The Merchant of Venice

214 Pages·2009·11.7 MB·English

BIBLICAL. LITURGICAL. AND CLASSICAL ALLUSIONS
IN THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
By
REV. MARK F. COSGROVE, O. S. B.
A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE COUNCIL OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THB
DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHaOSOPHY
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
1970
UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA
3 1262 08552 8700
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER
I SHYLOCK'S USE OF THE BIBLE AND THE MOTIF OF BONDAGE ... 13
The Problem of Usury in England 13
The Biblical "good man" and the Usurer 16
Sufficiency and Prodigality ' 21
Friendship with Gentiles 26
Our Sacred Nation and the Farming Publican 36
"The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose" 43
"Abram" 54
II RESOLUTION AM) LITURGY 57
Troilus, Cressid, and the Problem of Trusting People. . . 57
The Liturgy in Sixteenth-Century England 70
The "Exultet" Sacrificial Love Leads to Life 80
Jessica as "Te:sbe Babilonie, Martiris" 98
Dido or Ariadne? Error or Adaptation? 106
Dido, Ariadne, and the Willow 128
Medea: Rejuvenation and Moonlight Magic 134
Jessica's Unthrift Love and the Pattern of Quarreling 147
. .
BIBLIOGRAPHY 156
APPENDICES 161
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 209
INTRODUCTION
This dissertation studies the function of Biblical and liturgical
allusions in The rlerch.^.ut of Venice--. It also studies the function of
classical allusions to the extent that they are integral parts of the
Biblical and liturgical pattc?rn being studied. UTien necessary, it exam-
ines, makes use of, and occasionally attempts to solve some of the prob-
lems of previous scholarship. Usually, in differs from this previous
scholarship by focusing en the v;hole of The Merchant and by examining
the Biblical and liturgiral allusions as structurally integral eie,-,ieat3
of the play.
At this point a brief survey of related approaches will help to
define the scope, limits, ir:eLhrds, and goals o"^ my si-udy. It will also
show that my approach to The Merchant through Biblical and liturgical
allusions is not only sinilar to a^-id dependent on previous scholarship but
also needed and essential to a full understanding of The Merchant.
Previous Biblical approaches have not alv;ays studied the function
of Shahespeare'3 Biblical allusions in their dramatic conte;-;t. In the
nineteenth century, especially, critics tended to see Biblical allusions
in the plays as ornamental, or as evidence that Shakespeare was a "sincere
believer in the Bible'' or "in tlie doctrines taught therein," or as evi-
dence thac Shakesneare was either a Catholic, a conformist, or a Puritan.
William Burgess, The^.Bibl£_ijT._Shal^s^^^ (IJinona Lake, Indiana,
1903), p. ix. For similar points of view see also Charles Wordsworth,
Shakespeare's Knowled&:e_a_nd^ Use of the Bible (London, 1864) and John Hepry
Fe~(^^7"The'jhak^tSjl^ ^^^'^ '^°^^--- l'^-'6).
s
Thomas Carter, for example, correctly observed that some of Shakospeare'
Biblical alliusions can be traced to the Geneva version of the Bible, but
from this fact he also concluded that both John Shakespeare and William
2
Shakespeare v;ere Puritan recusants.
Recent Biblical approaches, hovjevcr, do examine Biblical allusions
as integral parts of t\^e pl^y in vhich they occur. Some of these approaches
are similar to mine, and I am indebted to the'ii, for frequently I continue
where they have left off. Richmond Noble's Shakespeare's Biblical Knowl-
edge and Use of the Book of Coprmon Prayer contains the most exhaustive
survey of Biblical ;-uid liturgical allusions in the plays of Shakespeare.-
And although he does not analyze the allusions nor shov; how they fit into
the context of the plays, his list does suggest that they are part of a
coherent pattern. Aaotb.er v;ork which focuses on coherent patterns, al-
though it does not deal iipecifically v/ith The Merchant, is that of John
Hankins who traces "Shakespeare'j habit of recalling the same image from
several sources," one cf the most frequent of which is "the Bible, par-
ticularly Psalms, Fiov'erbs, and the Book of Job.""^ Again, my approach to
The Herchar.t is similar to that of J. A. Bryant who shows from twelve plays
how Shakespeare's knowledge cf the Bible "worked in his art." He concludes
that "conscicusly or unconsciously, Shakespeare was a genuine typologist
2Tho.aas Carter, Shakespeare, Puritan and F.ecu5g.nt (London, 1S97),
and Shakespeare and Koly Scripture, with the Version He Used (London, 1905)
Richffiond Mobie, Shakespeare's Biblical Knowledge and Use of the
Book of_Cp-"ja3n Pi-ay^r (London, 1935).
John Eiskine Hi'nklni, Sri^^;^^viC3^-2L?-.X!SL^J.-~£-Jii'-S.^I.y. (Lawrence,
Kansas, 1553), pp. 16-17.
, .
in his use of Scriptural allrsions and analogy," one who regarded Scrip-
tural stories, persons, and images as "incorporating meaning, rather than
pointing to it," and who used Biblical allusions because "They extend the
depth of the play itself; they do not inei-ely point to the depths outside
the play." Although Hankins and Bryant analy:;c the function of Biblical
allusions in Shakespeare, they do not deal specifically with Th-O. Merchant
A Biblical approach tliat is most similar to mine in its method of
demonstrating Shakespeare's dramatic uses of Scripture is James Sims's
Dramatic Uses_of_Bib__l_i_c_aJ Allusiorsin Marlowe and Shaker.peare. Again
however, my study differs in scope from t'-'.at of Sims, for Sims dees not
deal with plays as a whole but with "a saiapling of dramatic uses" from tVie
early and minor dramatists, from two plays of Marlcwj, and from two or
three selections from ea.ch of tlie ccrpedies, histories, and tragedies of
Shakespeare. The goal of my scudy, box-.'cver, is the same as that of Sin's.
By focusing on Shakespeare's use of Biblical them.es, stories, and names,
I intend to illustrate from The Merchant, as Sims illustrates from Eli^a-
bethan dramatists,
the multitcde of ways these dramatists found to ada depth
and breadth to the effectiveness of their characterization,
dialogue, foreshadowing, irony, and to the total working
out of theme by depending on knowledge already in the minds
of the audience."
My Biblical and liturgical approach to The Merchant of Venice, then, is
-'J. A. Bryant, Jr., Iii2.?j7i.:£t.aj_,s_View,_^ome__Chr^
Shjk_es2ea£e_|_s_J'_l_a;.s_ (Lexington, 1961), pp. 16-17. Bryant analyzes "the
essential Christianity" of T_ha_J^_rchcait on pages 33-51.
^James Siws, PjaEi-'-tic^Uij.'-^ of Eiblical^ Allusions in^Marlowo and
ShakespoaLe (Gainesville. 1966), p. 77.
:
similar to recent studies, but I focus on a single play and attempt a cc:r.
prehensive analysis of Biblical and liturgical allusions.
My approach differs fundamentally from many of the allegorical,
mythic, and ritualistic approaches to The Merchant that becam:; popular in
the twenties. These approaches make use of Biblical and liturgical ele-
ments in their analyses, but they ofcen claim to see m.ore of a cohftrent
pattern than their evidence and the play will support. Moreover, allegor;
often tends to oversimplify The Merchant by making abstractions of the
characters, picturing th.p. conflict as simple good versus absolut-t! evil,
and presenting the denoueuent as a perfectly harmonious resolution.
In his allegorical approach, for example, John D. Rea finds that
many features of the trial scene in T'ne Merchant (Shyiock's villainous
prosecution, his being associated wifh the devil, his scales, and his ab--
ject departure at the end of the play) are "merely a re-dramatization of
I
the Medieval Processus Ee]ial,vith Shylock substituted for the devil,
Portia for the Virgin Mary, and the passive Antonio playing the roJe c£
mankind." Similarly, Nevill Coghill sees the trial scene of The Mcrchar
as directly iuLiurnced by the medieval allegory, the "Parliauicnt of KcavL/
in which justice and mercy (tv.'0 of the four daughters of God) argue over
the fate of mankind after his fail. Again, Sir Israel Gollancz sees The
Merchant as an extension of the allegorical tradition v?hich dramatizes
Scriptural stories. Such an approach to The Merchant, however, tends to
John D. Rea, "Shylock and the Processus Belial," Philological
Ouajrterly, VIII (l'J29), 311.
Kevill Coghill, "The Basis of Shakespearean Comedy," Essays and
Studies III (London, 1950), 1-23. See also Hope Travers, "The Four
,
Daughters of God," PMIA, XL (ly23), ^4-82.
.
point to deeper meaning outside the play rather than within the play it-
self. Gollancz claims that "The starting point of the legend of Shylcck"
is "some early monkish" homily v;hich blended the tv70 texts: "Greater love
hath no man than this, that a m.an should lay dov:n his life for his friend"
and "Christ also Icved che Church and gave Hiraself for it.""
Fy approach to the Biblical and liturgical elements in The Merchant
is at variance with these approaches since I do not consider The Merchant
an allegory nor the Biblical and liturgical allusions as fiuictioning pa?-ts
of an allegory. Admittedl}', however, the allegorical approach does have
a great diversity of m.ethods, directions, interests, and critics; and at
times I have found these allegorical interpretations both interesting and
provocative.10
In my study of the Biblical and liturgical allusions in The Merchant
I have tried to limit m.y examination cf Scriptural and liturgical allusions
to their primary source, the liturgy and the Bible. This means that I have
necessarily excluded many iinpcitcrit secondary sources for Biblical and
liturgical allusions. Shakespeare's audience, for example, was familiar
with narratives, parables, names, phrases, themes, and images of the Bible
not only directly from their private reading and public church services
gSir Israel Gollancz, Allegory and Mysticism in Shakespeare (London,
1931), pp. 19, 17.
A recent and thorough investigation of allegory in The Merchant
is that of Barbora K. Levalski, "Biblical Allusion and Allegory in Th_e
Merchant of Venice/' Shakespeare Quarterly, XIII (1962), 327-343. Her
analysis cf the conflict between Shylock and Antonio, their use of Bibli-
cal allusions and imagery, their representation of the Jewish and Chris-
tian communities, and Shylock's "forced conversion" are all enlightening.
Eut I do not feel that she demonstrates the existence of "consistent and
unmistakable allegorical meanings" in Th'S Merchant
but also iiidi^rectly from cycle plays, moralities, and mysteries v.-hich es-
tablished a tradition for the use of Biblical allusions in drama. I
have also excluded otlier important secondary sources for Shakespeare's
Biblical allusions such as the plays of Shakespeare's contemporaries and
the didactic and poetic literature of the period.
For the most pare, these secondary sources have received much crit-
ical attention; but a relatively unacknov/ledged secondary source, which
mtrits further study, is the English proverb. Morris Tilley's A Diction-
ary of Proverbs adequately demonstrates that English proverbs vjere a rich
secondary source for Biblical allusions in Shakespearean drama. The fol-
lowing are some convincing examples which "especially attracted Shakes-
pcare and other EliLabethans." " In The_ Merchant Antonio comments: "The
Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose."-'-^ This is an allusion to the
Biblical passage:
Then the devil1 . . . sayeth unco him. If thou be the sonne
of God, cast thy selfe dovme for it is v/ritten, that he
:
shall give his angels charge over thee, and with their haades
they shall lift thee up least at any time thou dash thy foote
against a stone,l^*-
'•'Recently, Ber-nard Spivack has shown ho\.' the "hybrid" plays be-
tween 1520 and 15S5 influenced Shakespeare's villains. These plays com-
bined allegorical elements from the moralities, narrative elements from
the Bible, and the.r.atic interpretations from the homiletic tradition, all
of which Spivack sees reflected in Shakespeare's villains. See Shakespeare
and the Allegory, of Ev:.l (New York, 1958), especially pp. 255-269.
'^Morris Tille>, A Dictionary of Proverbs (Ann Arbor, 1950), "Fore-
word," p. vii. Tilley adds that "The Bible naturally exercised a stronger
influence on English [prcverbs] than any other foreign work, if, indeed,
ve can call a book foreign that was read in every household."
^^xhe Arden Edition of J:he Works of William ShakesDeare_,__Tha_Mer-
chant of Venice, ed, John Russell Brown (London, 1955), i.iii.93. All
subsequent references to The !I;-jvchant are from th'Ls edition unless noted
otherwise
.
1-'!'The Bishops' Bible (London, 1585), Matthevj 4:5-5. For a full
)
Another English proverb based on a Biblical allusion is "The Devil can
transform himself into an angel of light" vhich comes from:
For such false apostles are deceitful workers, transformed
into the Apostles of Christ. And no mervaile: for Satan
himselfe is transformed into an angell of light.
(II Cor. 11:13-14)
This allusion is a favorite with Shakespeare:
Dromio of Syracuse: Nay, she is vjorse, she is the devil's
dam . . . the wenches say "God damn me," tb.at's as much
as to say, "God make me a light wench." It is written,
they appear to men like angels of light.
(Comedy of Error_s_ IV.iii.51-4)
Eiroii: Devils soonest tempt, resembling spirits of light.
(Love's Labours Lost IV.iii.254
Hamlet: The spirit that I have seen
May be the devil: and the devil hath power
To assuifie a pleasing shape.
(Ramlet II.ii.227-9)
lago: Divinity of hell'.
When devils will their blackest sins put on
They do suggest at first with heavenly shows
As I do now.
(O_thello II.iii.3^'1-4)
Clearly, then, although I have not looked into English proverbs, the
cycle plays, nor Shakespeare's contemporaries for their use of Scriptural
and liturgical allusions, these secondary sources constitute a solid tra-
dition that was familiar to both Shakespeare and his audience. Aad, of
course, the more frequently the Elizabethans encountered an allusion, the
discussion of Shakespeare's version of the Bible, see Richmond Noble,
Shakespeare's Biblical. .Kngwle_dge, pages 9-12, and Chapter V, "V.^hich
Version did Shakespeare Use?" pages 58-59. Noble's conclusion is that
"evidence tending to a certain cumulative effect" (?. 54) suggests that
Shakespeare used the Bishops' Bible for The Merchant Thus, all Bibli-
.
cal quotations in this dissertation v;ill bo taken froin the Bishops'
Bible unless otherwise noted.